# Sea Shanties (This is the year of the Sea Shanty?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 29, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007 "2021-04-29T01:07:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/1 "2021-04-29T01:07:21Z")
I love Sea Shanties and I just found out tonight this is the year of the Sea Shanty. So here is the apparent cause of this phenom: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHbU6s0jANc) Now my favorite Shanty is Drunken Sailor and this is a great version. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qGyPuey-1Jw/hqdefault.jpg "Drunken Sailer - Irish Rovers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGyPuey-1Jw) TL;DR: Now most of my adult life I have been involved with the Hudson River and Monmouth County (now New Jersey) Clearwater groups. Putting on festivals, in wooden boat programs and environmental action. Along the way with these activities I fell in a with a crusty crew of Shantymen. Now I have a poor voice, but with a good shanty, enthusiasm helps a lot. So does beer, rum and whiskey. Some for me and plenty for anyone having to listen. 🙂 One more of my favorite Shanties: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JHrKuWuTQq4/maxresdefault.jpg ""Roll The Old Chariot" - American Sailor-folk Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHrKuWuTQq4) “Roll The Old Chariot” - American Sailor-folk Song * * * **Does anyone else have favorite Shanties? Please share.** This thread inspired by @River_Hippie’s wonderful thread. > [@Just in case you haven't had enough bagpipes in your life lately](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-in-case-you-havent-had-enough-bagpipes-in-your-life-lately/926705): > > [[Drum Majors flourish during Huntly Pipe Band's 70th anniversary parade , Scotland, Sept' 2018] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrRRt4GWfFM) I’m Scottish, or descended from Scotland at least. I love this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/2 "2021-04-29T01:15:14Z")
I always was partial to Drunken Sailor myself, although my preferred variant is by the Blaggards. Not that I don’t appreciate the Irish Rovers and have several songs by them in various playlists. Not as many as the Dropkick Murphys, but still… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KI_l7U-nUmg/hqdefault.jpg "Blaggards - Drunken Sailor") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_l7U-nUmg) While not quite a traditional Sea Shanty, my favorite Shanty - adjacent song is this little gem [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iPAr7kL-mmg/hqdefault.jpg "The Mariner's Revenge Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPAr7kL-mmg) Which I just cannot enjoy or plug enough. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/3 "2021-04-29T01:20:18Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > While not quite a traditional Sea Shanty, my favorite Shanty - adjacent song is this little gem Not a shanty proper, but a cool song and video I never heard before. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/4 "2021-04-29T01:24:03Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > So here is the apparent cause of this phenom: > > [Nathan Evans - Wellerman (Sea Shanty) Lyrics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHbU6s0jANc) This guy says that is not a sea shanty: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/m1ovAB4vKzw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Music Theory of Tik Tok Sea Shanties") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1ovAB4vKzw&t=483) I like “Drunken Sailor” too, but, since that’s been mentioned: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/g9W8A0Yu40w/maxresdefault.jpg "Crossjack Shanty Singers - Cheerily Men") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9W8A0Yu40w&t=19) ETA before I forget: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/q3khFyxt3Uk/maxresdefault.jpg "Männer mit Bärten") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3khFyxt3Uk) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/5 "2021-04-29T01:24:57Z")
I worked at the Ren Faire for the better part of a decade, and hung around with the musicians. A few of my favorites: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JDt81x1B8nk/maxresdefault.jpg "Mingulay Boat Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDt81x1B8nk) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-yhIJZ7aCmM/maxresdefault.jpg "The Jolly Rogers - Pirates' Gold: Mrs. McGraw") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yhIJZ7aCmM) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/6 "2021-04-29T01:36:27Z")
Does this qualify? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q8jhb5NnADM/hqdefault.jpg "Clip - The Ballad of Gilligans Island, Gilligans Island opening and closing credits \_0001\_xvid.avi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8jhb5NnADM) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/7 "2021-04-29T01:38:55Z")
Not really, it doesn’t work as a work song. On that note, New York, New York also doesn’t work as shown here. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5l_04k_sLDM/hqdefault.jpg "Taxi - Season 5 - "New York, New York"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l_04k_sLDM) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/8 "2021-04-29T02:07:53Z")
How about a sea chanty tribute / style parody? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oEpAMm0-kVg/hqdefault.jpg "Nickelback - Rockstar Sea Shanty Lyric Video with The Lottery Winners") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEpAMm0-kVg) Sorry, I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/9 "2021-04-29T02:09:53Z")
What I learned from sea shanties is that all “good time” girls have names that end in -lly; Molly, Sally, Polly. If you want a girl who will stay true while you’re out to sea, find yourself a Nancy. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/10 "2021-04-29T02:13:55Z")
There’s one or two episodes of Deep Space 9 where Klingons do a “space shanty”. I liked that. I think the conclusion is that for me it isn’t so much the lyrics but the deep bass harmonies that I like. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/11 "2021-04-29T02:30:40Z")
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain\_Bogg\_and\_Salty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Bogg_and_Salty) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1Ni67BlpWUM/maxresdefault.jpg "The Pollywogg") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ni67BlpWUM) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/12 "2021-04-29T02:40:14Z")
Fiddler’s Green: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HMa1wCN-aVU/maxresdefault.jpg "Fiddler's Green") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMa1wCN-aVU) Black Velvet Band: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GzvOZyDDsRY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Irish Rovers - Black Velvet Band") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzvOZyDDsRY) ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/13 "2021-04-29T04:59:03Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I always was partial to Drunken Sailor myself, although my preferred variant is by the Blaggards. A folksinger I heard a few decades ago added a verse, “Put him in charge of an Exxon tanker.” I can still feel the beer coming out on my nose… ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/14 "2021-04-29T05:11:06Z")
BLOW THE MAN DOWN [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NYmQod1aLDQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Blow The Man Down (From "Keep Hauling" Soundtrack)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYmQod1aLDQ) [https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Percy-Grainger-Collection/025M-1LL0010297XX-0206V0](https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Percy-Grainger-Collection/025M-1LL0010297XX-0206V0) > **[Blow the Man Down (VWML Song Index SN17664)](https://www.vwml.org/record/VWMLSongIndex/SN17664)** > > The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is England’s national folk music and dance archive, a one stop shop for anybody interested in the folk arts. I like it at least as much as ‘Drunken Sailor’ ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/15 "2021-04-29T11:02:34Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > TL;DR: Now most of my adult life I have been involved with the Hudson River and Monmouth County (now New Jersey) Clearwater groups. Putting on festivals, in wooden boat programs and environmental action. Along the way with these activities I fell in a with a crusty crew of Shantymen. During my time with the Clearwater school education program, the favorites were always “Haul Away Joe” and “Cape Cod Girls”. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/16 "2021-04-29T12:24:48Z")
OK, Not shanties, but at least the last two are on a ship: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rqfKoVQMylY/maxresdefault.jpg "Amazing Klingon Singing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqfKoVQMylY) Brian ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/17 "2021-04-29T12:30:11Z")
Re: Nickleback song – “With the latest Dictionary” ??? Somehow that doesn’t fit… (I actually kind of like that song – first time I’ve heard it) Brian ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/18 "2021-04-29T12:48:24Z")
Does this qualify as a sea shanty? I seem to remember posting it in another sea shanty thread maybe 6 or so months ago and being told it was not. But it’s a cappella, it’s a seafaring tale, and it has a rousing, oft-repeated chorus, parts of which are sung with accompaniment. So I say yer a scurvy dog if ye say otherwise. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZIwzRkjn86w/hqdefault.jpg "Stan Rogers - Barrett's Privateers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwzRkjn86w) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/19 "2021-04-29T12:54:35Z")
On the Clearwater, _Haul away Joe_ and _Roll the Old Chariot_ were the most common ones for raising sails and/or the seine net. My week on board was way back in 1990. Since then it has been maybe a dozen individual sails. A couple of Pumpkin Sails and 3 spring fit-out weekends. ![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Sloop_Clearwater3_-_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg/300px-Sloop_Clearwater3_-_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg) But I ran part of the boat program for the Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater for years. Maintaining the Tuckerton Sailing Garvey, The Adam Hyler for about half of its active life. The boat is now in the Tuckerton Seaport Museum which is cool. * * * I’m trying to find a good version of I’se the B’y, but no luck thus far. When done right that one was really good. I wish I had more music by the Sloop Singers available. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007/20 "2021-04-29T13:05:01Z")
The most traditional shanty of them all, _The Spanish Ladies_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3-FqDoK9aQk/maxresdefault.jpg "Spanish Ladies") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-FqDoK9aQk) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sea-shanties-this-is-the-year-of-the-sea-shanty/941007.md?page=2)